(New York: Macmillan, 1966). Originally we asked Professor Louis C. Midgleyof Brigharn Young University to review Skousen's book for

Dialogue.

Shortly after receivingMidgley's review we received an unsolicited review from Professor William E. Fort, Jr.,also of Brigham Young University, which took an approach opposite that of Midgley. Sincemuch of the controversy surrounding Skousen's book centered on the interpretation ofQuigley's book, we thought it might be interesting to get a response from Quigley toSkousen's book and Midgley's review. In a further attempt at a dialogue we invited Skousento reply to Midgley and Quigley and, finally, invited Midgley to write a rejoinder to Skousen.All in all, it is a lively exchange and one we hope our readers enjoy.

The Naked apitalist

William E. Fort, Jr.

Dr. Carroll Quigley's book

Tragedy and Hope

might have escaped theattention of anyone but a few scholars except for its careful dissection byW. Cleon Skousen. Skousen possesses unique qualities for this work. Hiskeen, analytical mind has been sharpened by legal training and by sixteenyears of service with the F.B.I. In addition, he was a distinguished Chief ofPolice in Salt Lake City for four years and was editorial director of the lawenforcement magazine

Law and Order.

He has been a professor for sevenyears at Brigham Young University.Professor Skousen's keen eye detected passages, sandwiched betweenlengthy discourses in Dr. Quigley's book, that reflected a fascinating patternof information, fitting neatly into many things he had learned in his yearsof intelligence work. He knew, for example, that certain very wealthy andpowerful persons, both within this country and abroad, are and have beendoing things in support of the Communist conspiracy throughout the world.Dr. Bella Dodd, a former member of the national committee of the U.S.Communist Party, told Skousen several years ago that she first became awareof some superleadership right after World War II, when the U.S. CommunistParty had difficulty in getting instructions from Moscow on several vitalmatters requiring immediate attention. The American Communist hierarchy99

was told that any time they had an emergency of this kind they should con-tact any one of three designated persons at the Waldorf Towers. Dr. Doddnoted that whenever the Party obtained instructions from any of these threemen, Moscow always ratified them. What puzzled Dr. Dodd was the factthat not one of these contacts was a Russian or a Communist. In fact, allthree were extremely wealthy capitalists Dr. Dodd said, "I would certainlylike to find out who is really running things. I think the Communist Con-spiracy is merely a branch of a much bigger conspiracy "The portions gleaned by Professor Skousen from Dr. Quigley's bookrelate to the secret powers operating behind the scenes to destroy our con-stitutional republic and our traditional freedom and to establish a one-world,socialist government. Dr. Quigley speaks as an insider of some twenty yearsstanding. He approves wholeheartedly of the secret machinations of thosewho would destroy our nation and place the world under a socialist dictator-

ship.

He sneers at those American patriots who are fighting Communism,stating that they have missed the right target

the secret group of insiderswho would rule the world. He feels that it would be

tragedy

for the free-enterprise, constitutional Americans to win. On the contrary he believesthat our real

hope

lies in the victory of the secret operators. Hence the titleof his book,

Tragedy and Hope.

Dr. Quigley, however, believes that the real battle is finished and thathis side has won. In effect, he believes that it is all over but the shoutingand that it is now next to impossible to reverse the process. He traces thesecret movement over the years, naming names and places. Some of the nameswill come as a shock to many Americans. The secret moves will shock themfurther.Professor Skousen does an outstanding job of bringing together andcrystalizing the important facts of Dr. Quigley's book.

The Naked Capitalist

is a difficult book to put down. Skousen's commentary is enlightening. Thecomplete index and sub-index make it easy to trace the activities of men andorganizations.

The Naked Capitalist

will answer many questions concerning the strangethings that have been going on in the world and in this country for many

years.

Those who do not have the patience to tackle Dr. Quigley's 1300 pagebook directly should by all means read Professor Skousen's 144 page com-mentary. This book is a must for those interested in what is taking placebehind the scenes.

The ult of onspiracy

Louis

C

MidgleyThe Naked Capitalist

is intended to expose a massive, top-secret, Cap-italist super-conspiracy. Communism and socialism, we are told, are merelysome of the fruit of this Gigantic International Monolithic Network of TotalGlobal Power. Skousen now believes that it is the Capitalists who have beensecretly "running the world" for many years, forming "a conspiratorial con-100

trol center higher and stronger than either Moscow or Peiping."

The NakedCapitalist

is intended to strip bare this "Global Establishment" which se-cretly plans, plots, and conspires to rule the world. Now you have perhapsalways thought that the hard-working, money-making Capitalists were theGood Guys in Skousen's demonology. Nothing could be further from thetruth. He believes that "globalism," "internationalism," "one-worldism,"and ruthless centralized dictatorship are what the Capitalist demons have inmind. They only use communism to achieve these goals.The "global planners" who are at the center of the Capitalist conspiracyare identified by Skousen as the "leaders of the world's secret center of inter-national banking," the "super-rich," the "super capitalists." The "leadersof London and Wall Street" are chiefs of "the Anglo-American secret society"who are behind communism and everything else. Skousen puts bankers atthe top of the list of conspirators: the Rothschilds, Barings, Lazards, PaulWarburg, J. P. Morgan. But also included are the following: John Fosterand Alan Dulles, the Rockefellers, Cecil Rhodes, Arnold Toynbee, WalterLippman, Albert Einstein, George F. Kennan, Douglas Dillon, Dean Ache-son, Henry Kissinger, Henry Cabot Lodge, Arthur Burns, George Ball, Ells-worth Bunker, Paul Hoffman, McGeorge Bundy, the Kennedy family, DwightEisenhower, John Dewey, and many others. By any standards, this is quitea list.The Capitalists, he now tells us, are "the world's secret power structure"and they merely form, use and manipulate communism and socialism andmany other things for their own evil purposes. He knows that this thesisis not likely to be believed. "If I had said it, people may have found it toofantastic to believe," Skousen wrote in a letter that accompanied copies ofthe book that he gave to B.Y.U. faculty members. He claims, however, thathe has actually discovered "someone on the inside [of the supposed Capitalistconspiracy] who is willing to tell the story." "I have," he writes, "waitedthirty years for someone on the inside of the modern political power struc-ture to talk. At last somebody has." Skousen is referring to Carroll Quigley,a professor of history at Georgetown University. Roughly forty full pagesof

The Naked Capitalist

consist of direct quotations from Quigley's

Tragedyand Hope: A History of the World in Our Time.

But does Quigley really say what Skousen claims he says? The answeris both yes and no. The answer is yes, if you mean: "Are the long passagesthat Skousen quotes actually in Quigley's book?" Quigley does discuss therole of financial capitalism in recent history as well as various "networks"of Capitalist influence and power. But the answer is an emphatic and final

no,

if you mean: "Does Quigley think he is revealing or has he revealed aGreat Super-secret Capitalist Conspiracy behind communism?" This is, ofcourse, the crucial point.Much of what Skousen claims to have found in Quigley's book is simplynot there. There are numerous places in

The Naked Capitalist

in whichSkousen (1) asserts something about Quigley but then inadvertently revealsthat he completely misunderstands Quigley's remarks; (2) simply invents fan-tastic ideas and attributes them to Quigley; or (3) makes inferences fromQuigley's book that go far beyond the bounds of honest commentary. Byway of illustration, I will examine a small sampling of these many passages.101